Adhesive mat and device for attaching objects

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is an adhesive mat ( 1 ) for attaching objects, comprising a smooth-surface adhesive layer ( 2 ) designed to releasably adhere to smooth surfaces. In order to be able to quickly, conveniently, and inexpensively attach objects having a smooth or metal surface, the adhesive mat ( 1 ) has an additional adhesive layer ( 3 ) which is connected in a planar manner to the smooth-surface adhesive layer ( 2 ) and which develops a releasable attachment effect on textile fabrics or on a magnetizable surface

The invention concerns an adhesive mat for attaching objects, comprisinga smooth-surfaced layer designed to releasably adhere to smoothsurfaces.

The invention further concerns a device for the fixation and alignmentof objects, all with a smooth surface, with a working cushion which onits surface provides a textile surface structure.

An adhesive mat as described above is, for example, known from thedisclosure of DE 2 02008 005 552 U1. The adhesive mat disclosed thereconsists of a single-piece foam-layer made of polyurethane. By pressingthe foam onto a smooth surface the adhesive effect is achieved. Theadhesive effect is achieved in both surfaces of the adhesive mat, sothat objects with smooth surfaces, such as mobile telephones,spectacles, cigarette boxes and the like can be affixed to essentiallythe equally smooth surface of a vehicle dashboard. The adhesive effectof the known adhesion mat is provided exclusively between smoothsurfaces.

DE 20 3020 004 897 U1 discloses a specific working cushion embodied in awedge shape to hold, support and align computers, notebooks, tablet PCsand the like. For this purpose there are hook and loop fastener tapesembodied on the working cushion to serve as a form-stabile support, onwhich, for example a laptop may be secured in the desired angle. Thisform-stabile support device, however, is bulky and can only providesufficient attachment properties only by means of additional fasteningof attachment means.

Document DE 20 2009 016 480 U1 also discloses a working cushioncomprising a form-fast fitting, which results in the aforementioneddisadvantages.

A further retention device for notebooks and similar objects isdisclosed in document GB 772 300.

The subject matter of this invention is the provision of an adhesion matand providing a device with the aforementioned properties to providerapid, convenient and simultaneously cost-efficient attachment ofobjects with a smooth surface.

On the basis of the adhesion mat referred to in the introduction, thisinvention solves the problem by providing such an additional adhesivelayer with the capacity to releasably adhere to a textile surfacecomposition.

According to the invention an adhesion mat is provided, with whichvarious objects characterized by smooth surfaces can be releasablyattached to textile surface structures or magnetizable surfaces, andthat they can be fastened to these with sufficient attachment strength.For this purpose, the adhering mat as disclosed in this invention withthe additional adhesion layer is only placed on a textile surface or amagnetizable surface. Likewise this applies to a smooth surface wherethe smooth surface adhesion surface layer affects its adhesionproperties. Within the scope of this invention is therefore the featureof an adhesion mat with two layers, including the smooth surfaceadhesion layer, consisting of two different layers, wherein the twolayers, i.e. the smooth surface adhesion layer and the additionaladhesion layer are connected by gluing or similarly by other connectionor joining methods. According to the preferred embodiment the smoothsurface adhesion layer and the additional adhesion layer are joined bymeans of sealing.

For the sake of expedience the smooth surface adhesion layer as well asthe additional adhesive layer can be bent. Especially the smooth surfaceadhesion layer is preferably elastic and may be reversibly reshaped.

The design of the smooth surface adhesion layer is in principlevariable, as long as the smooth surfaces have the releasable adhesiveproperties towards the objects to be held.

According to the preferred design of the invention the smooth surfaceadhesive layer is composed of an elastic foam material. The foammaterial is designed so in that the pores open to the surface a vacuumis created when pressure is exerted on the layer. Pressing will compressthe foam material, which will reduce the volume of said pores andatmospheric air is pressed out of the pores. Due to its elasticity thefoam material will return to its original shape after compression,causing the pores to expand. Because however the foam material is sealedby the smooth surface directly in contact, atmospheric air can not flowback into the expanding open pores. This results in a negative pressureagainst the ambient atmosphere in the open pores and creates the desiredreleasable adhesive effect.

For the sake of expedience the smooth surface adhesive layer is composedof polyurethane. Polyurethane and especially polyurethane foam has beenfound to be a particularly expedient adhesive material. Polyurethaneadhesive mats are available on the market.

According to a variant of this invention different from the above thesmooth surface adhesive layer has an adhesive layer on the back of theadditional adhesive layer. This adhesive layer has the properties thatit may be repeatedly adhesively attached to a smooth surface.

In one variant of the invention the additional adhesive layer ismagnetic and suitable for being attached to magnetizable surface.Flexible magnetic materials, such as magnetic plastics, are known to theperson skilled in the art, so that it is not necessary to discuss themany further.

According to the preferred variant of the invention the additionaladhesive layer is however a hook and loop layer. A hook and loop layerhas an adhesive effect on textile fabric object surfaces.

According to the preferred embodiment of the invention the hook and looplayer forms fibres or protrusions which have ends averted from thesmooth surface adhesive layer in the shape of hooks or mushrooms. If theadhesive mat is placed on the textile fabric object surface the fibresor protrusions will hook into fibres, threads or meshes of the textilefabric object with the free ends, thereby creating a mechanicalfastening.

It is advantageous if the adhesive mat has a thickness between 0.3 cmand 2 cm, a width between 3 cm and 20 cm, as well as a length between 5cm and 30 cm. Said dimensions have been found to be especially expedientto provide a sufficient adhesion effect and, on the other hand, besufficiently small to be used in a motor vehicle, for example.

According to one variant of the invention, the smooth surface adhesivelayer comprises at least two smooth surface adhesive layer sections,which are connected by a single piece additional adhesive layer. Theadditional adhesive layer has, for the sake of expedience, an adhesiveback, and hook and loop fibres or protrusions with the free ends in theshape of hooks or mushrooms fixed onto the adhesive back. On the back,i.e. the side averted from the fibres or protrusions the adhesive backis joined to an additional adhesive layer with two smooth surfacesections. This way the adhesive mat can be folded together so that thesmooth surface adhesion sections face each other and are therebyprotected against external soiling.

It is advantageous to provide locking means to secure the adhesive mataccording to this invention in a folded position, with the smoothsurface adhesive sections facing each other. The locking means preventan unintentional opening of the folded adhesive mat, for example duringtransport.

The device according to the invention for the fixing and positioning ofobjects comprises an adhesive mat according to the invention, wherebythe adhesive mat is provided with a hook and loop layer. The adhesivemat is placed with its hook and loop layer onto the textile fabricobject of the working cushion, so that between the adhesive mat and theworking cushion a solid releasable mechanical connection is provided.

The smooth surface of an object to be held can be pressed onto thesmooth surface adhesive layer of the adhesive mat inducing an adhesioneffect, in a way that the object with the smooth surface is attached tothe working cushion in a sufficiently fast manner.

It is particularly advantageous if the textile fabric object is embodiedas a hook and loop tape either on one side of the working cushion oraround the circumference of the entire working cushion. The hook andloop tape of the working cushion provides meshes, eyelets or similardevices, which are complementary hooking medium to the hook and loopsection of the adhesive mat, whereby an especially fast mechanicalinterlocking system is provided between the hook and loop tape on thecushion and the hook and loop layer on the adhesive mat.

On a system as described above, for example, electronic devices such asportable computers, tablet PCs, E-readers or the like can beconveniently placed and viewed and looked at when lying down.

For the sake of expedience the working cushion is shaped like a wedgeor, in other words, has a triangular cross-section from one side. Awedge-shaped working cushion has been found to be particularlyuser-friendly. In addition it is beneficial of the working cushion isfitted with a pocket to store the objects to be fixed.

Further expedient embodiments and advantages of the invention are thesubject matter of the following description of implementation examplesfor the invention with respect to the figures of the drawing, wherebyidentical references relate to components with the same function, andwhereas the following figures show:

FIG. 1 an implementation example of the adhesive mat according to theinvention in a side view,

FIG. 2 the adhesive mat according to FIG. 1 in a perspective view,

FIG. 3 the adhesive mat according to FIG. 1 in an enlargedcross-sectional view,

FIG. 4 another implementation example of the adhesive mat according tothe invention in a side view,

FIG. 5 a further implementation example of the adhesive mat according tothe invention in a side view,

FIG. 6 the adhesive mat according to FIG. 5 in a top view,

FIG. 7 an implementation example of the device according to theinvention.

FIG. 1 shows an implementation example of the adhesion mat 1 accordingto the invention in a schematic side view. It is clear that the adhesivemat 1 consists of a smooth surface adhesive layer 2 and a hook and looplayer 3. The smooth surface adhesive layer consists of polyurethanefoam. When a smooth surface such as the underside of a notebook, netbook, tablet PC, E-reader or the like is manually pressed onto thesmooth surface adhesive layer 2 the adhesion effect is induced. For thispurpose the smooth surface adhesive layer 2 is pressed manually againstsaid surface. While it is pressed the polyurethane is deformed, wherebythe open pores in the polyurethane foam facing the smooth surface of thedevice to be attached are compressed. The polyurethane foam is embodiedin a highly elastic and flexible manner. After the pressing the foamreturns to its original shape. At this point the foam is in directsealing contact with the smooth surface, so that in the open poresfacing the smooth surface a negative pressure is created against theambient atmosphere. Due to this pressure difference there is a suctionadhesion of the smooth surface adhesive layer, for example, to thebottom side of a tablet PC.

The hook and loop layer 3, however, develops its adhesion force ontextile fabric surfaces, for example the seat covers of a motor vehicle,so that the object to be attached and fixed, for example the tablet PC,can be simply and releasably attached to a car seat.

FIG. 2 shows the adhesive mat 1 according to FIG. 1 in a perspectiveview, which will make especially the expedient dimensioning of theadhesive mat 1 clear. When seen in top view the adhesive mat 1 has arectangular shape with rounded corners. The adhesive mat 1 has anelongated shape so that especially mobile telephones or the like can beheld over their entire surface. The dimensioning shown in FIG. 2 is,however, only an example. In principle, all design implementations arepossible according to this invention.

FIG. 3 shows the adhesive mat 1 according to the invention in anenlarged cross-sectional view, making especially the embodiment of thehook and loop layer 3 clear. The hook and loop layer 3 has an adhesiveback 4 fitted with extruding single-hook, multiple-hook ormushroom-shaped protrusions or fibres 5, which are shown n FIG. 3 onlyschematically as simple hooks. The adhesive back 4 is firmly glued tothe smooth surface adhesive layer 2, thereby providing a firm compositematerial. The hook and loop layer 3 can also be considered either thehook part or hook section of a hook and loop interlocking system. Thetextile fabric surface is then the complementary part of the hook andloop interlocking system, namely the counter-piece for the hooks byproviding the loops or slings created by the fibres or threads. Thetextile fabric object can, however, also be a non-woven fabric. In thiscase the fibres or protrusions 5 will hook into the fibres or threads ofthe non-woven fabric.

FIG. 4 shows a further example of the embodiment of the adhesive mat 1according to the invention. It is clear that the smooth surface adhesivelayer 2 consists of two smooth surface adhesive layers 6 and 7, whichare completely and over their entire extent and firmly affixed to theadhesive back 4, which is only shown schematically, of the hook and looplayer 3. Thereby between the smooth surface adhesive layer sections 6and 7 a folding gap is created. The folding gap facilitates an easyfolding of the adhesive mat 1 in such a manner that the smooth surfaceadhesive layers 6 and 7 are folded together to face each other with thesides averted from the hook and loop layer 3. This way the adhesive mat1 can be easily transported and there is no risk of soiling the smoothsurface adhesive layer 2, which would possibly reduce the adhesiveeffect on smooth surface.

FIG. 5 shows a further example of the embodiment of the adhesive mat 1according to the invention, whereby the smooth surface adhesive layers 6and 7 are chamfered on the edges facing each other, so that the foldinggap 8 of the adhesive back 4 is widened towards the surface of thesmooth surface adhesive layers 6 and 7. This widening makes the foldingof the adhesive mat 1 even easier. In addition each of the smoothsurface adhesive layers 6 and 7 is fitted with a part 9 respectively 10of a mechanical locking system. This can be, for example, be a hooksection 9 and a loop section 10 of a hook and loop locking system.

FIG. 6 shows the embodiment example according to FIG. 5 in a top view inwhich the hook section 9 and loop section 10 of the mechanical lockingsystem are clearer. The mechanical locking system 9, 10 serves for thesecuring the smooth surface adhesive layers 6 and 7 in the folded closedposition.

FIG. 7 shows an embodiment example of the device 11 according to theinvention with the working cushion 12 with a textile fabric structure 13and the adhesive mat 1. The adhesive mat 1 has, in this example, asingle-piece smooth surface adhesive layer 2 and a hook and loop layer 3joined firmly over the entire area.

The working cushion 12 is, in the example shown, fitted with a covermade of leather or synthetic leather, whereby the textile fabricstructure 13 in the form of a ribbon is applied running around theworking cushion 12 in the middle of said cushion. In the embodimentexample of the device according to the invention shown in FIG. 7 thehook and loop layer 3 of the adhesive mat 1 and the ribbon-shapedtextile fabric structure 13 of the working cushion 12 for therespectively complementary parts of a hook and loop locking system.Therefore the ribbon-shaped textile fabric structure 13 functions as theloop part described above in more detail. The hook and loop layer 3functions as the shape-complementary hook part. This way a firm andreleasable mechanical attachment between the adhesive mat 1 and theworking cushion 12 is achieved, whereby a smooth surface adhesive layer2 is provided and firmly attached to the working cushion 12.

The smooth surface adhesive layer 2 can now also be used to firmlyattach objects with a smooth surface, such as, for example so-calledtablet PCs, notebooks, E-readers and the like, to the working cushion12. In this manner a convenient positioning, storage and fixing of saidobject is possible. This will make the handling and operating of therespective device easier.

The device according to the invention is in the whole flexible andcomprises no form-stabile or stiff sections, areas or the like. Anydamage to the attached object is therefore certainly prevented. For thesake of expedience the working cushion is filled with foam orpolystyrene balls.

1. Adhesive mat (1) for affixing and attaching objects with asmooth-surface adhesive layer (2), which is designed to the releasableadhesion to smooth surfaces, characterized in that an additionaladhesive layer (3), joined over its whole area with the smooth surfaceadhesive layer (2) and providing a reasonable adhesion effect on textilefabric structures or magnetisable surfaces.
 2. Adhesive mat (1)according to claim 1, characterized in that the smooth surface adhesivelayer (2) consists of elastic foam plastic.
 3. Adhesive mat (1)according to claim 1, characterized in that the smooth surface adhesivelayer (2) consists of polyurethane.
 4. Adhesive mat (1) according toclaim 3, characterized in that the smooth surface adhesive layer (2) hasan adhesive layer on the surface averted from the additional adhesivelayer (3).
 5. Adhesive mat (1) according to claim 4, characterized inthat the additional adhesive layer (3) is magnetic and adheres tomagnetizable surfaces.
 6. Adhesive mat (1) according to claim 1,characterized in that the additional adhesive layer is a hook and looplayer (3), which adheres to textile fabric surfaces.
 7. Adhesive mat (1)according to claim 1, characterized in that the thickness is between 0.5and 5 cm, the width is between 3 and 20 cm and the length is between 5and 30 cm.
 8. Adhesive mat (1) according to claim 1, characterized inthat the smooth surface adhesive layer (2) comprises at least two smoothsurface adhesive sections (6, 7) joined to a single-piece additionaladhesive layer (3).
 9. Adhesive mat (1) according to claim 8,characterized in that a sooth joint gap (8) is located between the twosmooth surface adhesive layers (6, 7).
 10. Adhesive mat (1) according toclaim 8, characterized in that a locking system (9, 10) suitable forsecuring the adhesive mat (1) in the folded state, whereby the smoothsurface adhesive layer sections (6, 7) face each other with the surfacesaverted from the additional adhesive layer (3).
 11. Device (11) forholding and positioning of objects with a smooth surface with a workingcushion (12), which is provided with a textile fabric structure (13) onits surface, characterized in that an adhesive mat (1) according toclaim 1, which releasably adheres to the textile fabric structure (12).12. Device (11) according to claim 11, characterized in that the workingcushion (12) has the shape of a wedge.
 13. Device (11) according toclaim 11, characterized in that the working cushion (12) has a pocket tohold said objects.